Dec. 10, 2013

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Written by

Detroit Free Press Sports Writer

Rajai Davis is a legitimate base-stealing threat. / AP

Meet Rajai Davis

Pos: Outfielder. Bats/throws: Right. Ht/wt: 5-9, 195. Age: 33. Hometown: Norwich, Conn. College: Connecticut. Drafted: By Pirates in 38th round in 2001. Debut: Aug. 14, 2006. Did you know? He made the final out of Justin Verlander’s no-hitter against at Toronto on May 7, 2011. He struck out swinging.

Not so fast

Though Rajai Davis only appeared in 108 games this season, he was third in the majors with 45 steals. Here’s a look at his steals the last five seasons versus the Tigers’ team totals: 2009: Davis 41, Tigers 72. 2010: Davis 50, Tigers 69. 2011: Davis 34, Tigers 49. 2012: Davis 46, Tigers 59. 2013: Davis 45, Tigers 35.

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LAKE BUENA VISTA, FLA. — That was fast.

In the seven weeks since their season ended, the Tigers have transformed themselves from the slowest team in the American League to one with many players who can steal bases and, perhaps even more important, take an extra base in other ways.

The culmination of this trend came Tuesday at the winter meetings when the Tigers agreed to a two-year contract with outfielder Rajai Davis, a free agent from Toronto.

Davis, who will be 33 throughout next season, is a right-handed hitter who is slated to share leftfield in some proportion with left-handed-hitting Andy Dirks. Davis finished second in the American League in stolen bases last season. His 45 steals (which marked his fourth season of at least 40) were 10 more than the entire Tigers team.

The Prince Fielder trade last month potentially made the Tigers faster in two ways. It gave them Ian Kinsler, who twice has stolen at least 30 bases in a season, at second base instead of Omar Infante, who stole five bases last season. And it put Nick Castellanos in the infield in place of Fielder. Castellanos isn’t a steal threat, at least not yet, but he has a better chance than Fielder of taking an extra base on someone else’s hit.

One of the three players the Tigers acquired in the Doug Fister deal was utility man Steve Lombardozzi. In his past three seasons in the minors, Lombardozzi averaged 23 steals per season.

The Tigers’ new manager knows the value of speed.

For 18 years, Brad Ausmus tried to throw out opposing base stealers as a catcher. He also got a firsthand jolt of speed when he was traded from the Tigers to the Astros for the 1997 season. Those ’97 Astros stole 171 bases en route to the NL Central title. The next year, every starter on the Astros reached double figures in steals — including Ausmus with 10. That speedy Astros team won 102 games.

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On Tuesday, Ausmus was asked what he learned in those two years about the value of the stolen base.

“It puts pressure on the defense and the pitcher, for sure,” Ausmus said. “More than putting yourself in a more advantageous scoring position, it redirects the pitcher’s focus.”

Redirects it away from the hitter.

“The not-so-veteran pitchers are worried about the runner,” Ausmus said. “They’re not concentrating on the strike zone. More than the stolen base, it’s the missed location on the fastball, or the breaking ball that hangs. There are a lot of ways that stolen bases help, and it’s not always just gaining 90 feet.”

In the past three years, the Tigers have won three division titles but no World Series games. Perhaps speed is the missing link for October.

As of Tuesday evening, the Tigers hadn’t announced the Davis signing, apparently because he hadn’t yet taken the requisite physical exam.

But general manager Dave Dombrowski spoke in general terms about Davis’ addition and how the Tigers have changed this off-season. As he did, he brought to mind an old baseball proverb: “Speed is the only asset you use on both offense and defense.”

“Comerica Park is a big outfield (where) ideally you’d like to have good outfielders who can run a little bit,” Dombrowski said. “Ideally, you’d like to have a more athletic club, but sometimes the players that are available for you don’t fit that mold.”

Davis will use his speed to run down drives that could have been doubles or triples. Dombrowski seems optimistic Dirks will, too. He said Tuesday that Dirks told him this week he is feeling much better than during this season, when he had inflammation in his right knee as a result of a spring-training collision with a wall.

As Dombrowski portrayed it, Davis’s arrival means all 13 position spots on the Tigers are filled. Beyond the eight everyday players, there is the Dirks-Davis arrangement in left (playing time for each to be determined) and a bench of Lombardozzi, infielder-outfielder Don Kelly and No. 2 catcher Bryan Holaday.

In that way, the Tigers are set. They are set to do some running, too.